Corporate Social Responsibility

Two movies - Wall Street (1987) and Other People’s Money (1991) - have given us a glimpse of how things are changing in the corporate world as it relates to corporate social responsibility. Each of these movies is well worth watching. However, the essence of each movie is provided in the text of the Wall Street (1987), Gordon Gekko’s speech. You can read the text of the Wall Street (1987) speech in the following paragraphs:
• Text of Gordon Gekko’s speechGekko: “Well, I appreciate the opportunity you're giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak.Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company!All together, these men sitting up here [Teldar management] own less than 3 percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than 1 percent. You own the company. That's right -- you, the stockholder.And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.”Cromwell: “This is an outrage! You're out of line, Gekko!”
Gekko: “Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can't figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I'll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents. The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated.In the last seven deals that I've been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. Thank you.I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them! The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed -- for lack of a better word -- is good.Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms -- greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge -- has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed -- you mark my words -- will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you very much.”
Assignment: Questions below in 4-5 paragraphs in strict APA 6THWhat you think about the ethics of Gordon Gekko (Wall Street)?
• How would you describe each man’s probable view on corporate social responsibility?• Compare and contrast their speeches to the shareholders.• What do these two films say about the Board of Directors?• What can we learn about business (strategic) management from these two films?
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